This invention relates to a coin collecting apparatus. The invention is particularly concerned with a coin collecting apparatus comprising a coin container and an associated receiver housing. The receiver housing is adapted to receive a coin box, and means are provided for discharging the contents of the coin box into the coin container while the coin box is retained in the receiver housing.
Sollenberger U.S. Pat. No. 2,815,166 discloses a coin collecting apparatus of the general type contemplated by this invention. This apparatus involves the use of a coin box which is receivable within a recess defined by a receiver housing of a coin container. A closure carried by the box, and a sleeve of the receiver housing are adapted to be opened upon rotation of the box within the receiver housing. When the closure is so-opened, the contents of the box are discharged into the container and at this point, the box is removed. The sleeve of the receiver housing prevents access to the interior of the coin container when the coin box is removed.
Various schemes have been developed with a view toward improperly obtaining coins which should be delivered to the coin container. In particular, attempts have been made to locate articles, such as pieces of paper or cardboard, in the area of discharge of coins from the coin box. When these articles are located in that position, some of the coins discharged can be caught by the articles and thereafter retrieved. This retrieval can be accomplished by gaining access to the area adjacent the receiver housing, and schemes have been developed to gain such access even when the coin box has been removed from the receiver housing.
Bock Pat. No. 3,807,628 discloses an apparatus designed to provide improved security means for constructions used for the collection of coins from individual coin boxes. In particular, this design provides means for displacing articles improperly located in the area of coin discharge from a coin box whereby free passage of coins from the coin box into a coin container can be achieved.
Dominick, et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. Re. 28,308 and 3,974,961 disclose a system of coin collection wherein coin boxes, as on buses, are moved to a central location and then have their contents discharged. These systems have security advantages, including the use of doors with drive means for achieving discharge of cash box contents, but they do not lend themselves to a movable collection system, such as a cart movable down the street from meter to meter, which is the type of system contemplated principally by Sollenberger and Bock.
The Sollenberger and Bock designs, in particular, have disadvantages, however, since the receiver housing of the coin container used in these systems is exposed during use. This is necessary since the coin box must be rotated by manually engaging the top of the box after it is in place. With the receiver housing and coin box exposed, opportunities for pilfering and vandalism are increased. In the latter connection, attempts at pilfering, even if unsuccessful, can cause damage to an apparatus, and it is, therefore, desirable to design such systems with a view toward minimizing access to parts needed for performing the desired function.